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Peter Palese, PhD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Elected Member of the Class of 2014 of the Prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences

NEW YORK

– June 2, 2014 /Press Release/ ––

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences has announced its 2014 class of new members. Included among the list are leaders in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, arts, business, public affairs, and the nonprofit sector is Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Peter Palese, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences is one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies as well as a leading center for independent policy research. Members contribute to Academy publications and studies of science and technology policy, energy and global security, social policy and American institutions, and the humanities, arts, and education.

“It is a privilege to honor these men and women for their extraordinary individual accomplishments,” said Don Randel, Chair of the Academy’s Board of Directors. “The knowledge and expertise of our members give the Academy a unique capacity – and responsibility – to provide practical policy solutions to the pressing challenges of the day. We look forward to engaging our new members in this work.”

“On behalf of the entire Mount Sinai Health System, I would like to congratulate Dr. Peter Palese on his election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs for the Mount Sinai Health System. “Peter Palese is one of the truly great scientists in the world today. His research on the mechanisms of how viruses cause disease is leading to vaccines that will help millions of people. In addition, Dr. Palese is a phenomenal mentor, who trainees are now leaders in their own right. This recognition by the Academy is well deserved.”

Among other recent honors, Dr. Palese is a member of The National Academy of Science and Member of the Institute of Medicine and received the Sanofi-Institut Pasteur Award and the European Virology Award from the European Society for Virology.

“I am truly honored and humbled to be elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences,” said Dr. Palese. “To be among this prestigious group of members is very gratifying. As scientists in microbiology and infectious disease, we are always looking for answers to questions about existing diseases and those that may not yet be virulent. Receiving recognition like this helps to reinforce that the work we do is seen as important to those inside and outside of our laboratories.”

The new class will be inducted at a ceremony on October 11, 2014, at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since its founding in 1780, the Academy has elected leading “thinkers and doers” from each generation, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in the eighteenth century, Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the nineteenth, and Margaret Meade and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the twentieth. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.

About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven member hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services—from community‐based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.

The System includes approximately 6,600 primary and specialty care physicians, 12‐minority‐owned free‐standing ambulatory surgery centers, over 45 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, as well as 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institutes of Health funding and by U.S. News & World Report.